


beating around the holly bush

by ghibliterritory



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cedric is too sweet for words, Christmas Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Harry is stupid, M/M, Minor George Weasley/Oliver Wood, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Minor Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Multi, Other: See Story Notes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliterritory/pseuds/ghibliterritory
Summary: Harry Potter has found himself in a predicament. His godfather is convinced he's bringing someone with him during his holiday visit, but he doesn't have anyone to bring.Enter Cedric Diggory. How can an old flame help Harry out, and will that flame spark up again?See notes for au detailsWas previously "All I need for Christmas is here"
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 96





	1. the predicament itself

**Author's Note:**

> So basic rundown: The Triwizard Cup wasn't a portkey, Mad Eye Moody was actually there in Harry's fourth year, Peter Pettigrew dropped dead or something so Voldemort has no help in trying to resurrect himself so that threat is pretty much dead in the water. Harry's graduated by now. Also Sirius and Remus are a thing but Teddy still exists because they asked Tonks to be a surrogate mom for them and they're all living together and good friends.

Harry James Potter had always lived life on the edge of wanting to kick himself in the face. From mistakes made in simple conversation, to events unfolding so horrendously he just wanted to put himself out of his misery, there had always been a slight desire to have the flexibility to do something like that. And, Merlin, that was incredibly prevalent now.

He sat on the floor of the Weasley’s living room, chugging back as much hot cocoa as he could (Mrs. Weasley had made him about ten cups now, which he was rather thankful for). Ron sat on the small, squished sofa nearby, investigating a Muggle magazine Harry had brought for Mr. Weasley. Whatever problem Harry was facing, he was only half interested.  
  
“I mean, what am I supposed to do?” Harry asked aloud, taking another sip of hot cocoa. “I know I could just say I’m not bringing anyone, but then that’ll bring up _questions,_ and I’ve never been good at answer non-awkward questions, let alone _really awkward ones_!” He ranted on. Ron grunted to signify he was listening, before pausing his reading and looking up.

“Why did you say you were bringing someone again, especially if you weren’t?” He asked. Harry groaned quietly. “I didn’t say I definitely was, I just said I might be! But, Sirius is _very_ into the idea of me finding a partner, which is great, because he wants me to be happy, except then he gets information muddled into positives and tells Remus all about it, and Remus can’t correct him because usually Sirius tells him all my news, so then _Remus_ thinks it’s a positive, and that leads to Tonks knowing, and it becomes a never ending spiral of people believing what isn’t true.” He huffed. That was a lot of talking he did, but Harry had a tendency to ramble on. He didn’t use to, but now that he’s actually comfortable around people, it’s been a growing habit.  
  
Going to take another sip of cocoa, he frowned at the realization that there isn’t any left, and he set the mug onto the coffee table in front of Ron, who hummed. “Well, that’s a right good mess.” He mumbled. “Gee, Ron, I had no idea.” Harry murmured back, to which Ron raised his arms in defense. “What am I supposed to do? S’not like I can just go and be your mate for the week.”

Harry paused, giving Ron a considering look, before Ron very lightly flicked his head and Harry laughed. “Alright, alright, maybe not. That’s not to say I wouldn’t mind you pretending to be. But, you’ve got enough on your plate this holiday as is.” Harry said, moving his brow suggestively. “Are you prepared to have Hermione and her folks here?”  
  
“Not in the slightest.” Ron said honestly. He put the magazine onto the coffee table. “I’m more worried about dad. He said he’ll try not to be weird, but he can’t help himself. He just gets excited.” He shrugged.  
  
There was a part of Harry that wished he had such a simple problem.  
  
After another few moments, he sighed and went to lie on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. “What am I gonna do, Ron? I told them I’d be there by Thursday, which is a _surprisingly_ short amount of time away, and I don’t have any solutions to this problem that wouldn’t cause _more_ awkwardness and chaos.”

Maybe he was wallowing in a bit of self pity with this, but sometimes he felt like being a little dramatic. Besides, in his defense, he overthought everything in his life, this was hardly new territory. Ron sighed and leaned forward. “That might be the only solution, Harry. Either face the awkwardness of _not_ bringing someone for the Holidays, or find someone real damn quick. One of those is more realistic than the other, I’m afraid to say.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Harry grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. Footsteps sounded closeby, and they stopped right before they got to his head.

“Why is Harry pouting on the floor?” Ginny Weasley asked, looking to her brother for an answer. Ron held back a smile. “Told his family he’d be bringing a boyfriend with him for the holidays, but he doesn’t have one-” “It doesn’t _have_ to be a boyfriend!” Harry chimed in, sitting up on his elbows. “Any gender will work.”

Ginny grinned, cheeks tinting pink. “As much as I would have loved to help a few years ago, I’m preoccupied this year.” She told the boys. “Luna’s inviting me over for her family’s Christmas day feast.”

“Lucky you.” Ron said under his breath. Ginny went to smack his shoulder. “At least I won’t be here when dad attacks your girlfriend’s parents.” She sniggered, before making her way through the rest of the house to do whatever she had planned on doing before. Harry made a whining noise and fell onto his back again. “I’m doomed, Ron. I’m doomed.”  
  
“You’re a drama queen.” His friend replied, dropping the subject entirely. Ginny came back in with a pastry, made fresh by Mrs. Weasley that morning, and looked down at the boys. “Mum said that she needed to grab some more things for Christmas. Maybe you could go with her to get your mind off it.” She suggested. Harry hummed softly, thinking about it. “Not a bad idea. Thanks, Ginny.” He looked up and gave her a gentle smile. She smiled back. “Don’t mention it.” She told him, before heading off again. Not long after that, Harry pulled himself off the floor. “Want to join us, Ron?”

Ron shook his head, standing. “No thanks, I’ve got to pre-emptively perfect everything for when Hermione gets here.” He gulped a little bit at the mention of it. Harry gave him a pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine, Ron. Honestly. You’re just being a drama queen about it.” “Oh, piss off.” Ron smiled at him. Harry chuckled and took his hand back. As he was about to leave, Ron nudged his arm. “Don’t let this whole thing get to you, Harry. It’ll be fine.”

Harry nodded, and went on to find Mrs. Weasley to offer to go with her. Ron was right. It would be just fine.

Mostly, anyway,


	2. the rather unexpected solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, going out was the perfect thing for him to do.

As it turns out, the cold weather was a _great_ way to get Harry’s mind off of his predicament. Now he had something else to complain about, at least.

In all seriousness, the trip was actually not a bad distraction. They’d been joined by George, who was scrambling to find a genuine gift for Oliver (Harry has suspected that the two had been more intimate than most Quidditch team mates, but it had only recently been confirmed by George himself), and the experience was a very busy one. They stopped by a normal Muggle shop first, picking up a few things Harry had suggested from old Christmas dinners with the Dursleys, and then they stepped into the familiarly open space of Diagon Alley for some more traditional things. George had strayed to do his own shopping, and while Mrs. Weasley went into a shop, Harry decided to wait outside.

The sun had set a bit ago, which wasn’t a bad thing, he figured. Despite the glow of lanterns all over the area, it was a wonderful place to look up and see the stars at night. He could never see them on Privet Drive, and even when staying with Remus and Sirius, it was hard to spot them in the brightly lit London sky. But for some reason, anywhere that magic was particularly heavy, the stars were easier to see.

It did become a problem, though, when Harry started to wander around the edge of the shop to get better looks at some of the constellations, and instead of paying attention to where exactly he was going, he knocked right into someone. Thankfully, it wasn’t very forcefully, so nobody went toppling over. But, it still hurt. Harry instantly snapped back into attention, stumbling back a few steps. “Sorry, I wasn’t really”

“Harry?” A very familiar voice made Harry freeze a bit, and he looked up at who he ran into. Despite all inner prayers, it wasn’t just _anyone_ in front of him. It was Cedric Diggory. Of fucking course it was. 

Not that Harry had anything _against_ Cedric, quite the contrary actually. When they competed together in the Triwizard Tournament during Harry’s fourth year - Cedric’s sixth - they had become… not friends, exactly, but far from enemies. They actually helped each other out more than anything. And, maybe that year, Harry had started to have some really interesting thoughts about romance and Cedric just so happened to pop up a lot in those thoughts, but that was between Harry and Harry’s thoughts, no one else. It was just jarring to have all of that rushing back into his head. 

He figured he must have been standing and staring like quite the idiot for longer than desired, because the faint smile on Cedric’s face turned into one of slight worry. “You alright, Harry?” He asked, snapping Harry to attention _once again_. He could feel his cheeks getting warmer. “Oh, yeah! Yeah, sorry, I just… It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you.” Harry stammered out. It was a shit excuse, but he had to live with it. “You look…. Absolutely no different.”

Cedric chuckled, making something in Harry’s stomach jump. “Well, you haven’t changed much yourself. You _might_ be a little taller.” He teased. Harry couldn’t help but laugh, restraining himself from being too loud with it. “An inch or two, I’d hope. But how have you been? How’s your holiday?” He asked, his own questions fading quick behind the sudden thoughts racing around his head.

“Not bad on either front.” Cedric told him, shifting onto his right foot. “Working a bit in professional Quidditch, which is nice.” While his smile was brighter, something about Cedric’s tone wasn’t as lively as that might have suggested. “Nothing really planned for the holidays. What about you? I gather you’ve graduated by now?”

Harry tried not to nod too enthusiastically. “Yep. Been a few months now. Feels odd not going back to Hogwarts anyway.” He admitted. His hands found a place temporarily in his coat pockets, before he decided that looked too dumb and he took them out again. “Why the lack of plans?” Harry asked. Cedric gave half a shrug. “My folks are off visiting a great aunt on my mum’s side. They say it’s probably her last year, so they want to give her some company. Most of my friends are doing things with their families, too.”

Yeah, Cedric definitely sounded a bit bummed out by the whole ordeal. Harry was either really good at reading people, or Cedric was bad at hiding it. He couldn’t tell. “Well, that sucks. I’d invite you to my Christmas plans, but it’s a bit hectic right now.” Harry said. Cedric gave him another smile. “You’re sweet, but you don’t have to do that. Wouldn’t want to invade anything.”  
  
“You wouldn’t be at all.” Harry said quickly, pausing a bit after. Another moment of wanting to kick himself in the face. “There’s just this whole…”   
  
Suddenly, a thought came to Harry. More like it smacked Harry right in the nose with the force of a hammer, really, but still. This could be exactly what he was looking for. His gut churned. It was a horrible idea. But maybe, just maybe, it would work out.   
  
“Actually, _do_ you want to, uh… celebrate with me?” Harry asked him, suddenly feeling like he would collapse. Cedric raised his brow a bit. He was clearly curious to see where this was going. Harry wanted to die. “Well, I mean… It would be with my godfathers, and, uhm… It would be a bit of time, I’m there for about a week, maybe more, and… well…” Okay, none of this was going how he imagined it would in that one split second of getting the idea.

Cedric shifted again, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t freak out, Harry, I’m listening.” He assured the other. Merlin’s beard, Harry would have melted if it weren’t freezing. He took a breath. 

“Look, I’m going to be honest with you, Cedric. I made my godfather think I’d be bringing someone with me for Christmas, which is usually fine except I don’t actually have anyone to bring.” He explained, tugging at his coat sleeves. “So… if you came with me, we could knock out two birds with one stone. You can have some holiday plans, and I won’t be subjugated to a week’s worth of embarrassment. It’s not a bad trade if you ask me.”

The silence following that was unbearable for Harry. It wasn’t long, but he could feel every second of it in his bones while he waited for a response from Cedric. He looked confused, but not against the idea. Harry could see the wheels in his head turning over it.

After a minute, Cedric gently shrugged. “Sure.” He said. Harry blinked at him. “Wait, really?” “Yeah, why not? Gives me something to do I suppose.” Cedric’s smile was even wider, and he sounded more excited than he had before. Was Harry reading into that too much? Either way, he smiled back. “Great! Great, wonderful… I guess I’ll, uh.... Send you an owl. Do you have an owl?” He asked, restraining himself from babbling on. It was hardly working. Cedric laughed once, softly.

“Yes, I do.” He confirmed. “If you need to send me any warnings about your godfathers, feel free to. And, if you felt like it, we could meet at the Leaky Cauldron. So we can arrive together.” Cedric suggested. Harry could only nod. The gut feeling was even stronger now. “Sounds great, yeah, that sounds _perfect_ honestly.”

His smile ever growing, Cedric opened his mouth to speak again when Mrs. Weasley called out from behind him. Harry turned his head around, face fully red. “Coming!” He yelled back, before looking at Cedric again. “I’ll, uh… see you then.” He was nearly inaudible. But thankfully, he figured Cedric had heard him. “See you then. Send me an owl tonight with details.” He reminded. Then, he passed him by, pausing incredibly briefly to nudge Harry’s shoulder on his was. Harry stood there for another moment, nearly throwing up, before he went to join Mrs. Weasley again.  
  
That went so much better than he expected.

❁❁❁❁

“You really asked him?” Hermione said that night, leaning forward from Ron’s bed as Harry sat on the floor once again. “Cedric Diggory?”  
  
Harry couldn’t help but get red again, just thinking about it. He tried to not let that distract him from smoothing out Hedwig’s feathers. He’d written up a very quick note explaining most of the hypothetical situation (though he felt like he was forgetting something), and gave Cedric a time to meet him. The letter sat neatly in Hedwig’s beak, and she should have left a bit ago, but Harry missed her sometimes.

And, he might have been holding back sending it. Maybe.

“Yes, Cedric Diggory.” He grumbled, resting his forehead against Hedwig’s. “I don’t even know how it happened! One minute, we were just chatting without much substance, and then I just blurted it out, and that was that! I was surprised that he even _considered_ it.” He was truthfully surprised that Cedric hadn’t smacked him on the scar for even suggesting it, but he was very grateful that hadn’t happened.

Hermione grinned brightly at him, clearly trying to be supportive. “This is good! You have a solution to your problem, Cedric isn’t lonely on Christmas, everybody benefits.”

She had a point, definitely, but something in Harry wasn’t having it either way. “But what about the fact that I actually still _have feelings_ for Cedric. I mean, they’re not crazy or deep, but they still exist. That’s gonna be horrendous!”

Ron, who had been sitting quietly behind Hermione and playing around with her hair, paused to look out above her head. “No offense, Harry, but it’s been _three years_. You have got to let those feelings go, mate.”

“You try not liking someone who’s perfect!” Harry said defensively, lifting his head. Hedwig made a soft, chirping-squawking kind of noise, and he sighed through his nose, moving to take her to the window. Without a word, she leaped from his hold and into the air, soaring off. Harry figured he couldn’t take it back now.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, not knowing what exactly to do. They both thought for a second before Ron piped up again. “Want to braid Hermione’s hair with me?”

While Hermione gave him a look that suggested it was a bad idea, Harry sighed again. “Yes, please.” Instantly, they all moved around to sit on Ron’s bed, Hermione at the foot of it. Harry and Ron sat closely next to each other, parting Hermione’s hair into two sections - one for each. And without worrying about perfect boys or holidays, they spent the night messing around, braiding turning into game playing and then joke telling and so on and so forth.


	3. the visit begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day to meet comes, and Harry feels like he's going to be sick.

Naturally, Harry arrived to the Leaky Cauldron on their agreed meeting day. Almost everyone in the whole Weasley house tried to convince him to relax and wait until closer to the time (Floo Powder would get him there in about ten seconds maximum, so there was no way he could be late), but he wouldn’t budge. Harry Potter didn’t just  _ relax _ .

So after Mrs. Weasley shoved a sweater over his head ( _ “It’s cold out there this morning, don’t freeze while you dilly-daddle” _ ), a partially awkward wish of luck from Oliver Wood ( _ he had patted him on the back and said “Don’t worry, everyone’s had a crush on Cedric. I fancied him for a while in my third year.” _ ), and hugs from maybe a hundred people, he travelled to the Leaky Cauldron as quickly as he could. Actually, he told the powder to take him to Diagon Alley in general. He could have said the Leaky Cauldron, but something in his gut told him not to. Nervousness, mainly.

When he arrived, flying out of a chimney and almost onto the road itself, he wanted to waste no time. Yeah, he had a good three hours to kill, but it was better to be punctual for this.

As if he’d ever been punctual for anything else in his life.

Harry only stopped on his journey to pick up a small present for Cedric. He was making him do this, he might as well give a little more than just something to keep him occupied. He made sure to get it wrapped nicely in gold wrapping paper, looking it over a thousands to check it was perfect, before paying the clerk and heading to the dreaded meeting spot. It was going to be fine, he told himself. He’d wait for three hours, eat, maybe catch up on that book he was reading, and Cedric would get there promptly and they’d head off towards Number 12 Grimmauld Place together.

But what if he never showed, Harry pondered in the far back corner of his mind. What if he sat there for hours and hours and left alone and showed up alone because Cedric forgot? Or, because he hated him?

He did his best to shake it all from his head. Maybe they hadn’t talked in a long time, sure, but Cedric wasn’t irresponsible or mean. Harry trusted him for a number of reasons. Cedric would get there, and it would all be fine. They wouldn’t act too terribly different from usual, either, he assured himself. Pretending to be… an item, as Mrs. Weasley put it, would be a little odd, but they could discuss the finer details of it together. They probably didn’t need to do much.

_ I’d like to do a little more _ , Harry thought, immediately scolding himself for it. Those feelings were old, he shouldn’t be letting them have any say in this.

Of course, when he walked into the Leaky Cauldron and saw Cedric already there, sipping from a mug topped with a rather large pile of whipped cream, those feelings disregarded any kind of resistance.

Harry stopped in his tracks a bit, staring at the other being  _ early _ . Earlier than he was. And looking surprisingly put together for being awake at eight in the morning, with the implications that he had to actually wake up even earlier to get there by then. Then he remembered the present he was holding. Very quickly, Harry tried to open a corner of his trunk so he could throw the present inside, and had finished the tiny struggle this caused just before Cedric looked up and saw.

Cedric’s eyes got wide and bright, and he instantly smiled. “Harry!” He called out, ignoring his mug in favor of getting up and practically sprinting over. The noise had caused a few heads to poke up from conversations or news papers, but not many, and they didn’t stay interested for long anyway. Cedric stopped in front of Harry, grinning and just kind of staring for a couple seconds, before he remembered about some whipped cream on his upper lip and wiped it away.

“I’m glad to see you.” He said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I, uh… Got here a bit early. Didn’t want to risk being behind, you know?” Harry felt like then was the perfect time to just drop dead. “Yeah, no, I thought the same.” He told Cedric hastily, avoiding looking into his eyes. “Uhm… Did you want to go ahead, or eat a little, or… what did you want to do?”

At the question, Cedric’s brow furrowed in thought, and he hummed. “Well, I’m down to do whatever you want to.” He finally said. “It’s your trip, after all.”

Harry was stunned, but not too stunned. Cedric wasn’t a pushover by any means,and yet he had a tendency to put others wants before his own. He’d seen it action quite a bit when they were in school. The nerve of that guy. “You can decide if you want to, I don’t mind.” Harry offered with a nervous smile. “I’m making you do this anyway, I don’t want to be all controlling.”

“You’re hardly making me do anything, Harry.” Cedric assured. Harry, of course, couldn’t possibly believe him, even if he knew deep down he really wasn’t making him. “Still, I don’t want to take it over or anything.”

A small sigh made its way out of Cedric’s nose, but he didn’t seem upset or frustrated. Hell, his expression became warmer than it had been before. “How about we head on over? If you’re hungry, we could stop on the way- I’m sure there’s a muggle restaurant in that direction.”

Harry didn’t even have to ponder the idea. He instantly nodded, subconsciously ready to agree with anything Cedric said. “Sounds brilliant. It’s not terribly far, but is a bit of a walk, if you wanted to call a cab or anything.”

Cedric shook his head. “Walking is fine. Gives us some time to chat. Just let me take care of some stuff and we can head on.” He turned around and made way back to his table after that, chugging a few more sips of whatever was in his mug and paying for it. Harry felt himself relax a lot more, watching Cedric move.

It took little time for him to come back, grin bright as ever. “Alright. Lead the way.” He told Harry, and with that, they left the Leaky Cauldron and went out onto the street.

❁❁❁❁

The walk was, in Harry’s opinion, wonderful. It felt so much shorter than he knew it was, and it had started to snow very gently. Harry had some trouble, though, taking his eyes off of his friend as the snow fell into Cedric’s hair and eyelashes with a strange kind of grace. But, he figured Cedric didn’t notice, as he didn’t say anything about it. They went over some smaller details Harry hadn’t been able to get in the letter (like how it was Sirius and Remus who were together, but Teddy was technically Remus and Tonks’ kid by genetics, and they all lived together to just make everything easier on them), and Cedric expressed some slight excitement about it all. Spending Christmas somewhere knew, getting to know Harry a little better.

Something in Harry’s mind told him he was forgetting something important, but he ignored it. He was just freaking himself out.

In no time at all, Number 12 Grimmauld Place stood before them, just a tad foreboding. Harry gulped a little bit, trying not to let his panic return. Cedric watched him a bit, and put a hand on his shoulder. Gut swirling again, Harry looked over, and was nearly knocked over by his smile. “Ready? I reckon we can’t stand out in the cold for much longer.”

Harry took a breath, and nodded. Cedric patted his shoulder and half-led Harry up the steps. Again, he hesitated, but was quick to gather up the nerve to knock on the door. They were instantly met with Tonks at the door. Her hair was a bright, light red color, and she grinned brightly at the boys. 

“Harry!” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He immediately returned it, grinning wide. He’d only met Tonks a few years ago, but they had gotten a little close in the short amount of time. She always managed to make him laugh and distract him if he were particularly upset about something. 

She pulled back and looked him over, before her attention went to Cedric. “And this is?”

Cedric smiled at her, reaching out a hand. “I’m Cedric, it’s nice to meet-” He barely got to finish before Tonks pulled him into a hug as well. “Of course, I should have known! A Triwizard Champion from my own house is hard for me to ignore.” She told him. “Glad to know you’re spending the holidays with us!”

Harry felt his face get a bit red, but Cedric only laughed, hugging her back. Eventually, she let him go. “Oh, you two are probably freezing, get your asses inside.” She said, stepping back in herself. Harry motioned for Cedric to go in ahead of him, which he did after a minute of trying to convince Harry to go in first instead. He stepped into Number 12 last, though, closing the door behind him. It was warm and bright inside, a step up from the first few times he visited, and he could instantly recognize a heavy smell of something chocolate in the air.

He smiled. It was home.

He wandered into the parlor of the building, his eye catching Cedric set down his trunk. A though started to form in his head, but it was cut off by footsteps behind him. He instantly turned. Sirius Black leaned against the door frame, smiling with a sparkle in his eyes. Harry’s heart soared, and without thinking, he barreled towards him and nearly knocked him over in a hug. Sirius laughed and hugged him as tight as he could manage, still somewhat weak after all of his time spent in Azkaban. He didn’t care. He’d stay like this for the rest of his life if he could.

The only reason he let go was because of seeing Remus come up behind him. Harry went to hug him just as fast as he’d hugged Sirius, and maybe twice as tightly. Remus was warm and Harry melted into the touch. It felt perfect.

“Welcome home, Harry.” He murmured to him. He sounded relaxed, which was definitely deserved. Remus let him go and put a hand to Harry’s cheek, looking at his face. “Is your hair getting longer?”

“Probably.” Harry shrugged. Remus hummed. “Well, don’t let it get too crazy. I spent about a year or two not taking care of my hair, and there’s  _ still _ grease in it.”

Harry laughed softly, and turned to look back. By now, Cedric and Sirius were shaking hands, already being introduced to each other. Remus raised a brow. “I’m going to assume this is your boyfriend then?”

Something clicked for the two boys in the room when Remus said this. Cedric turned to look at him, his eyes a tad wide, but he didn’t stop shaking Sirius’ hand. “I’m sorry?”

Harry felt his body run cold as ice.

Sirius slowed his own hand down. “Harry’s boyfriend. That is what you’re calling each other, I’d presume.” He explained. Cedric gave a slow nod, looking over at Harry, who at this point had already started to hide himself in the neck of the sweater Mrs. Weasley had made for him.

So  _ that’s _ what he had forgotten.


	4. tidying the mess (and a closer look into one another)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After realizing his mistake, Harry and Cedric sort it all out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a Lot shorter so i apologize in advance but i'm trying to space stuff out so i can put out chapters corresponding to the holidays, since harry arrives on christmas eve and is staying until new years day. it's a wonky system but i'm making do with it the best i can. thank y'all so much for reading!!

Harry could not be more thankful that Cedric was a very smart man who could smoothly talk through almost any situation. Despite learning the actual details of who he was supposed to be  _ after _ he had agreed, Cedric picked up the act with no trouble, introducing himself to Remus as well and acting like nothing was different than before. Of course, Harry was quick to excuse them off to his room to unpack. Neither of them said a word as they went, and it stayed that way until the door was firmly shut, and Harry let out a rather loud groan of embarrassment and disappointment in himself.   
  
You would think the faking to be his boyfriend part would have been mentioned.

Cedric let go of a breath he’d been holding since they left. “Well,” he muttered, looking to Harry, who was sitting on the bed. “You definitely failed to mention that bit the first time we talked.”

“Yes, I am  _ fully aware  _ of that, Cedric.” Harry grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face and turning to look at him. “And I am ridiculously sorry that I didn’t bring it up- it just slipped my mind! Or, I guess I figured somewhere that it was implied- regardless, I’m sorry about that, and if you want to leave-”

“Leave? Harry, I’m not going to up and leave just because of some miscommunication. I’m not an ass.” Cedric told him, moving to sit down in a chair by the corner. “We can make this work out. I mean, despite the fact that I was definitely not  _ prepared _ to do this whole bit. Not that I mind, I don’t have to change much.”

At that, Harry lifted his head. “What do you mean?”

Cedric paused. For a moment, it looked like something akin to fear crossed his face. Then he swallowed a bit. “...Well to be perfectly honest, I… I’ve always kind of played for both teams, if you know what I mean. So this isn’t too far out of my comfort zone.”

It wouldn’t be right to say that Harry was shocked by this news, but it definitely wasn’t something he’d been expecting to hear. He blinked. “Oh. Right. Makes sense.” He murmured, thinking about it.

Maybe that’s why Cedric seemed to stare and smile at him a lot in his fourth year… but, most likely, Harry was just being hopeful there.

He looked over at Cedric again, who was smiling softly at him, looking relieved. Harry smiled back at him. “You could probably guess that I’m the same way.” He said. It wasn’t that hard to figure out in any case, but with the context about the whole situation revealed, the pieces were easier to put together. Cedric nodded, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees.

They were fairly silent for a while. Why, Harry didn’t quite know. He supposed his excuse was to think, but there wasn’t really much to think about. The situation just was what it was. Cedric said he would stay, so he didn’t have to really worry about that (even though he did a little). No one suspected Cedric wasn’t  _ actually _ his boyfriend, at least as far as he could tell. They just sat in silence for no real reason whatsoever, until Cedric stood and went to sit by Harry’s side. He looked at the boy who lived, his brow slightly raised. “So how come you  _ can’t _ get a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter?”

Harry looked up at him, and if he had been anyone else, he might have cast a rather nasty glare for a moment. But he was compelled to actually laugh at the comment, and Cedric laughed too, and Harry swore if gold were a sound it would be his laugh. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, I guess.” He replied. To be honest, he only said that because there was no real answer. He’d had some flings over the years, but nothing had been serious.

Maybe half the reason because of gut feelings that hadn’t left for days.

“Fair,” Cedric shrugged. “You can tell me all about that when this is done.” He reached out to put a hand on Harry’s shoulder, smiling softly again. “For now, let’s give ‘em a hell of a show, aye, Potter?”

This gave Harry a strange boost of confidence he didn’t know he needed. Any worries temporarily slid away from his mind.

“Right.”


	5. a pre-christmas dinner with a side of falling in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation at dinner makes something click for Harry and Cedric's situation.

Fortunately for them, it still didn’t seem like anyone knew they weren’t together when they went back down the stairs.

Since they had gotten there extremely early in the day, they had plenty of time to talk and relax with Sirius, Remus, and Tonks. They even managed to be joined by Teddy sometime later, since he’d been asleep before, and Harry was already holding him before he’d been in the living room for more than a minute.

He was very attached to that kid, and it showed.

It hardly felt like any time had passed before it was dark outside, and dinner was on the table. Since any major cooking would be done the following day (they’d managed to come in on Christmas Eve, which wasn’t bad timing at all), they decided to just get what Remus and Harry called take out. It wasn’t something a lot of wizards did, but no one wanted to put in the effort, and they made sure nothing about magic was discovered.

The dinner wasn’t entirely chatty, updates were made about everyone’s life, Harry made light conversation with Teddy (maybe all of his answers were incomprehensible or unrelated to whatever Harry said, but he didn’t care one bit). Despite all factors, it was uncharacteristically quiet.

At least, until Sirius had his first drink, then it got to being a real Black-Lupin-Tonks household party.

“So,” Sirius piped up at one point towards the end of the meal, looking at Harry with mischief already in his eyes. “How’d it happen?”

Harry, who had been trying to offer Teddy a small fork-full of rice, paused to look over. “How did what happen?” He asked. Sirius grinned and motioned his head towards Cedric. He wasn’t paying much attention, fully wrapped up in a conversation with Remus about Defense Against The Dark Arts. Harry blinked and let his sheer stupidity take hold again before the question hit him. “Oh! How did Cedric and I-” He didn’t finish, watching Sirius nod. “Always a defining moment in one’s life, meeting their partner. Yours parents had the sweetest story of their meeting- the first time they met was a disaster, but the  _ second time _ -”

“Sirius.” Remus chided, interrupting his conversation with Cedric. Sirius’ smile turned sheepish. “Right. No need to get into that. Anyways,” He looked back at Harry. “Tell us about it.”

Harry of course hadn’t been hearing any of this. He’d been very preoccupied with his own drowning anxieties that suddenly roared through his brain. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. But he obviously should have- Sirius loved to know everything about his life, which was grand until he had to make up stuff to cover for a ruse. There used to be a time when Harry was younger that he was incredibly good at lying, but it had slipped away from him with age.

“Uhm…” He stammered, feeling his body tense up. Any thoughts outside of panic left his mind in quick fashion. He felt like he might let the egg rolls he’d been feasting on come back up his throat any minute.

Before Harry had another second to worry, though, he felt something nudge his leg. He looked across the table to where Cedric was. Immediately, he felt calmer, as Cedric tried to tell him through looks alone that it was alright. It worked. How or why, Harry couldn’t explain, but it just did.

“Well, sir, if you don’t mind me answering,” Cedric piped up, taking his eyes away only to look at Sirius with a charming smile. “We first technically met in a Quidditch game in my fifth year, Harry’s third. But we really started to talk during the Triwzard Tournament-”

From there, a large tale was spun about competing and winning together, and how during the years following they sent owls as often as possible, and that it all just happened unexpectedly. Sirius smiled very warmly as he listened, clearly beyond happy that Harry had someone he could trust. Even Remus and Tonks looked pleased, watching Cedric tell the story like he was Merlin talking about his days in Camelot.

Harry couldn’t help but melt a bit at it all. His cheeks were warm, and a smile was threatening to break the rest of his face with how wide it was. Only Teddy seemed uninterested. But in his defense, he was hardly a year old- Harry supposed he probably reacted the same when his parents were young and telling their own love story.

After the story had ended and the moment all but faded from everyone’s minds, Harry couldn’t help but continue to stare at Cedric, his heart beating loud.

Shame this was all fake, wasn’t it? He might have fallen in love with Cedric then and there if he didn’t know better.

But, really, he  _ didn’t _ know better, did he?


	6. a new perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Cedric's thoughts about all of this

While Harry was fumbling over himself and trying to juggle the brand new scenario very openly (at least between the two of them), Cedric was doing the exact same thing  _ internally _ .

None of the events presented to him had taken the direction he though they would. Spending Christmas alone? Nevermind, you’ve been invited to join a school friend he might have had an interest in for a short time and his family. Oh, but you aren’t supposed to be friends, you’re supposed to be  _ together _ together.

And you only get to learn the last bit of information the day you get there.

Most people wouldn’t have stayed as calm as he was in this quick succession of events, especially with one being unknown. But somehow, Cedric had managed to not freak out. Completely, at least, it was harder to be calm on the inside.

This was prominent as he sat on the steps of Number Twelve and fiddled around with his wand.

Everyone else had gone to bed, since it was late, except for Harry and Cedric. Harry claimed his pre-sleep routine was longer than Dumbledore’s beard, and Cedric figured he could take the time to have a moment to himself. Not that he wasn’t appreciating spending time with Harry. Actually quite the opposite.

He was possibly enjoying this way too much.

The thought of Harry hadn’t crossed his mind in a while, not since his seventh year, and it was a strange feeling having feelings he thought he had buried dig themselves up again. And at full force. He thought it was bad just running into him in Diagon Alley, but all of this had just made it worse, if that were even possible. Cedric was half tempted to scream by this point.

But, he didn’t. He sighed and flicked his wand, making some snow swirl on the ground. He was being unreasonably pessimistic in his head, and he knew that. It was so sudden and heart wrenching for him, though. He wasn’t prepared for getting caught up in his emotions from years ago and then have it end in abrupt fashion without so much as a second though.

He hadn’t been ready since the exact same thing happened after he graduated, to be quite honest with himself.

Snow swished and twirled around on the floor with the very gentle waving of his wand, and Cedric pondered how he planned on handling this when it was over. He didn’t want to just give up contact, so maybe he could try to keep talking to and hanging out with Harry after, but if he continued doing that his feelings might become parasitic and end up hurting him.

A decision hadn’t been made by the time Harry came outside to ask if he was ready to shut down for the night, and he lied, saying he was. One still wasn’t made even after Cedric had changed into pajamas and gotten ready for bed and tucked himself into the bed he ended up having to share with Harry. 

And it continued to be left unattended to as he laid awake for at least an hour, ignoring the worry altogether and just reminiscing to himself about how Harry had hardly changed, and he was really starting to regret taking this visit into consideration.

Then at the same time, not regretting it at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and messy because i'm traveling for the holidays, but i wanted to get something out!


	7. christmas day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Cedric celebrate the holiday

Christmas had always been a mixed bag for Harry, to be honest. For a long time, it was just another way for the Dursley’s to cement their hate for him, and that had branded itself into his perception of it until rather recently.

He was glad that he’d had many wonderful Christmases since he was eleven, and that it was becoming something better for him, but there was still an edge of discomfort with it still always lurking.

Naturally, this in no way helped his extreme state of insecurity and discomfort with his situation, and Harry had found himself feeling miserable on Christmas morning for a number of reasons. One, the whole Cedric debacle was still weighing heavily on him. He felt guilty and anxious that it would all be found out and he’d be shunned (which he knew wasn’t realistic, but he couldn’t help it). Two, the pre-existing Christmas funk was particularly heavy this year, not being at Hogwarts with friends to celebrate, even though he wouldn’t trade being with Sirius and Remus for anything. And three, the cherry on top of it all, the present he had gotten for Cedric.

The damn thing had been eating away at him very slowly since he bought it. What if it was a horrible gift? What if it was the  _ worst  _ gift and Cedric was  _ offended _ by the damn thing? What if he had forgotten it somehow, or lost it since he had to shrink it to make it fit properly in his trunk? What if  _ everything that could go wrong went perfectly wrong _ ?

Harry took at least five minutes trying to shake his fears away while Cedric showered. There was no reason for any of that. Maybe Cedric wouldn’t go crazy for it, but he doubted there would be anything disgustingly and completely horrid about the gift. He wouldn’t be hated for it.

Right?

There was no time to think of an answer, because Cedric was back, and now everyone was waking up to celebrate with all their presents and treats.

Going downstairs and watching as Sirius trembled with pure excitement over every gift with his name on it made Harry’s mood lighten a lot. He wondered how his godfather could be so knowing and mature but still act more childlike than any actual children he’d known.

Teddy was having just as much fun, smiling and reaching out toward the small tree they’d managed to tuck into a corner of the house. Remus had him situated somewhat awkwardly on his lap, refusing anyone’s offer to take him instead. As good as he was with kids, Harry could tell that Remus was a little worried and extra cautious with Teddy.

Once again, Tonks and Cedric were chatting up a storm between their gifts, marveling at their brief time together at Hogwarts (“How did I miss a House member with bright pink hair?”). Harry had kept himself kind of against a wall, staying mostly out of the eye of the storm, so to speak. His funk had lessened with time, but he still wasn’t completely in the spirit yet, and didn’t want to be in the way of anything. He was pretty happy with the presents he’d gotten for everyone excepting Cedric, though. Particularly Teddy, who’d given up trying to get to the tree in favor of an enchanted toy Seeker buzzing around his head. And his own presents were really nice. He had a little more to open, since Mrs. Weasley had insisted he take all the presents from everyone at the Burrow and open them on the proper day.

At one point, when a majority of the presents had been shared, Cedric slipped away from Tonks to come and sit by him, smiling. “Having a good Christmas, Harry?”

To be honest, Harry had zoned out a bit towards the end of the main celebration, and hearing Cedric had made him jump just a bit. But he managed to relax almost instantly. Well, kind of. “Oh, yeah, yeah, Cedric, it’s been great.” He said, kind of nodding at him. It wasn’t  _ great _ by any means, but it wasn’t bad either. Cedric seemed extremely happy with this. “Good, ‘cause it isn’t over quite yet.”

Before Harry could even start to ask what Cedric meant, he pulled out a small box from behind his back. In hindsight, he really should have noticed that earlier - the box itself was wrapped in bright gold paper. He very carefully took the box from Cedric’s hand and removed the paper with the most precision he’d ever taken to do anything. Then, he opened up the box, breath hitching slightly at what was inside.

A light gold bracelet stared back at him, looking too delicate to touch. It wasn’t very big or thick, but it was very decorate, shaped to look like a bolt of lightning. Not a zig zag kind of shape, no, an  _ actual _ bolt of lightning, with smaller bolts jutting out from it. Harry blinked, reaching in to pick it up and get a better look. Cedric bit his lips, watching him.

“So?” Cedric asked, causing Harry to break from looking at it. “What do you think?”

Harry opened his mouth, shut it, then quickly opened it again, stunned. “I… It’s  _ gorgeous,  _ Cedric.” He said in almost a whisper, sliding it onto his wrist. It fit almost perfectly, and if he wasn’t staring at it, he might not have remembered it was there, it was that light. “You didn’t have to get me this- how much did it cost? I can totally pay you back for it-”

“There’s no need for that, Harry.” Cedric cut him off, taking his hand with the bracelet. Harry’s heart stopped for a second. “This is a gift.” He said. “Still, this must have cost a lot- I’d feel bad not… Oh, wait!”

Harry quickly got up and rushed to their room, pulling Cedric’s present out of his trunk. He made sure to make it grow back to a normal size before he went back downstairs, shaking. Oh, lord, this was the moment, wasn’t it?

Cedric’s eyes were wide as he saw the size of his presents, which probably stood at his chest in height. “Oh, my.”

The words went in one ear and out the other for Harry, who paused at the bottom of the steps, nervously holding the present out in front of him. “I don’t know if this is going to be good, I’m warning you now.” This didn’t stop Cedric as he got up and went to Harry taking the present from him, opening it.

A wide, bright grin spread across his face as he got a good look at it. “Harry, it’s incredible! How did you even  _ get this _ ?”

Carefully, he pulled out a sleek looking broom, with bristles finely shaped and handle very clearly polished. On it, a shimmering golden signature of the name ‘Dai Llewellyn’ sat under the name of the broom. Cedric traced his fingers over the signature, nearly jumping out of his skin with excitement over it. Harry, who’d been tense the whole time, relaxed his muscles at seeing how happy he was. “I saw it in a shop window, and I just… kind of guessed you might like it. I didn’t expect you to be this happy, though.”

“Are you kidding?” Cedric said, looking at Harry again. “Dangerous Dai Llewellyn is my _ favorite _ Quidditch player of all time- he was incredible! And this broom- it’s  _ gorgeous _ for how old it must be to have  _ his  _ signature on it-  _ thank you _ !” Suddenly, Cedric wrapped his arms very tightly around Harry. He froze up when it happened. They had barely held hands at this point, this was… a rather large step. But, Harry didn’t say anything. He hugged back hesitantly, but tightly, and couldn’t help smiling. “Thank  _ you _ . This bracelet it magnificent.”

The warmth of Cedric’s hug faded far too fast for Harry’s liking, but it was alright, he supposed, since he got to see his smile again instead. He liked that just as much. “I’m so glad you like it. I saw it and knew it was perfect.” He explained, using his free hand to run a hand through the front of his hair. “Not just because of the scar, either.”

That made Harry’s heart leap. He felt bad for the organ, it was getting a serious work out this month, wasn’t it?

“I can’t thank you enough for it, Cedric. I really can’t.” He replied, his hands going to mess with the bracelet automatically. They sat down on the couch together, not really doing much talking, but just sitting and enjoying each other’s company. Cedric took Harry’s hand again. Harry didn’t let it go as long as he could help it.

“I  _ will _ still pay you back for it if you want me to, you know.”

“Don’t you dare.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year everyone!! i'm very sorry for the lack of an update, the holidays have been very packed for me, but i'm back and determined to have a steady schedule of updates! hope everyone liked this sweet lil chapter.


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